Ras Ghamila

The dive

Ras Ghamila is the last of the Sharm el Sheikh local sites before the coast turns into the Straits of Tiran. The cape separates a shallow sandy lagoon from the open sea, and the dive is on the seaward side: a fringing reef wall in the shallows, then a long sandy plateau running north. Aquarius Diving Club, which uses it as its house reef, breaks the profile into a reef wall at 5 to 12 m, plateau at 14 to 22 m and a sea-fan forest at 18 to 26 m. Red Sea Marine gives the fringing reef as 10 to 15 m and the plateau as 14 to 26 m. Either way the dive lives between about 5 and 26 m, and the usual working depth on the drift is 12 to 15 m.

The plateau is covered in coral bommies, large Porites colonies and Acropora table corals, and the thing the site is actually known for is gorgonians. Aquarius describes the largest concentration of sea fans of any Sharm local site, dozens of them, some over two metres tall. They are colonial animals with a thin living skin over a horn-like skeleton; a hand on one kills the patch it touches, so the local rule is to look and stay off.

It is normally a drift, run northwards, and the current is where the sources part company. Aquarius calls it generally mild to moderate with a northerly set towards Enterprise Passage. Camel Dive Club says strong currents make the drift here exciting and slots the site as an optional third dive after two morning dives in Tiran. Red Sea Marine says the current can run the other way and that you should check it before entering, and that the northward drift ends at a green beacon marking the edge of the passage. Take the strongest of those as the plan, check the water before you get in, and do not go past the beacon.

Under the tables you find crocodilefish, bluespotted ribbontail rays and groupers; on the sand, feathertail rays; at the corner, schools of black snapper with cornetfish working the edges. Turtles shelter under the pinnacles, and the passage brings tuna, trevally and occasionally sharks past the outside. Octopus is regular, and Spanish dancers come out on night dives. Reef staples recorded at this pin include Napoleon wrasse, sohal surgeonfish, Picasso and titan triggerfish, porcupinefish and several parrotfish.

• The largest concentration of gorgonian sea fans of any Sharm local site, some over two metres
• A long plateau of Porites colonies and Acropora table corals with crocodilefish and rays underneath
• Schools of black snapper at the corner, with cornetfish hunting the edges
• Turtles under the pinnacles and feathertail rays on the sand
• Shore entry, so it can be dived repeatedly without a boat schedule

Conditions

Aquarius gives Ras Ghamila 15 to 30 m visibility, and Dive The World's Sharm baseline is 20 to 30 m with gentle to moderate current. Sharm water runs from about 22 C in February to 27-28 C from July to September and 25-27 C in October and November. Because it is a shore entry on a local reef, it stays available on days when wind stops the Tiran and Ras Mohammed boats, which is much of its value.

On current: The sources disagree and the conservative reading is the one to dive. Aquarius Diving Club, whose house reef this is, calls the current generally mild to moderate with a typical northerly drift towards Enterprise Passage and the Strait of Aqaba. Camel Dive Club describes strong currents that make the drift exciting and treats the site as an optional third dive after Tiran. Red Sea Marine warns that the current can run in the opposite direction and advises a current check before starting the dive. Plan a northerly drift, check the set from the beach, and treat the green beacon at the north end as the hard stop, because past it is the passage.

Dives & underwater footage